Saturday, March 22, 2008

The Celebration of Christ, or When in Rome

Welcome to Good Friday.

We just finished two outstanding books about early Christianity. The first, called The Magdalene Legacy by Laurence Gardner, meticulously detailed the development of the Christian faith, from before the time of its central figurehead up to the time it was adopted as the official religion of Rome. If you want to know why a certain rite is performed today, or how the canonical Gospel of Mark differs from the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, or how to reconcile the various contradictions in the New Testament, this is the book for you. The second, called Jesus and the Goddess by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy, exposes the similarities between Jesus Christ and the dying-and-resurrecting gods of every other ancient culture. If you want to decode the earliest religious texts and learn the mystery that formed the foundation of the modern Christian faiths, this is the book for you.

We were utterly convinced by the first book, which accepted, argued, and explained the historical facts of the nascent church, including everything in the New Testament. Then we were utterly convinced by the second book, which accepted, argued, and explained the myths that revealed the secret mysteries of the nascent church, including everything in the New Testament. Finally we realised that anyone with enough time and resources could find supporting texts for almost any theory they proposed. The unknowable and undeniable truth of that past time is almost certainly to be found somewhere in the middle of those two positions, taking parts of each.

Today is an important day for people of the Christian faiths, the day several years ago when God decided it would be a good thing to crucify His only Son. These events are reenacted all over the world, in some cases with the full compliment of brutality. Church-appointed leaders will speak to millions of people and tell them what it all means, why it all matters. Believers will kneel prayerfully before a cross, perform certain rites of commemoration, celebrate the triumph of Jehovah and His Son.

A few thousand years ago Rome ruled the western world. Most citizens of the empire did not recognize any monotheistic, revealed religion. There was a whole pantheon of gods who were worshipped and believed to play an active part in people's lives. Romans daily honoroued, celebrated, and sacrificed to their gods. They carried charms and amulets, said prayers, and generally tried to propitiate their gods. Today scholars have clearly identified cults of Jupiter, legends of Marius, superstitions of Robigo, and myths of Mithras, to name just a few of the popular beliefs. There was even a national day of prayer to the goddess Salus.

That modern civilization is far more sophisticated in its belief systems is a fallacy. Today television stations are showing choirs singing praise to a convicted criminal. Big box retailers are selling chocolate bunnies and plastic eggs at a discounted price. Income at the florist shops is blooming. Half the banking institutions are closed, or all of them are half-closed. Schoolchildren are on holiday. Many businesses have either given employees the day off, or granted employees the day off. There is a noticeably fishy smell in the air. Indeed, if Jesus were to appear today, a jury of his peers would find he had a rough childhood, he was abandoned by his parents, everyone made fun of him, and so would pronounce him not guilty by reason of insanity. The Resurrection would have to be canceled.

In ancient times, Jerusalem was located prominently in the center of every map of the known world. But the world no longer revolves around the city and the religions that sprung from it. Grant for one moment the possibility that the Christian faiths--indeed all faiths--are based on myth: we are suddenly painfully aware how like the Romans we really are. When we laugh at their silly beliefs, we laugh at ourselves, we laugh at all of mankind. The sole cause of the perceived difference between them and us, then and now, is hubris. Christians know their God is the one and only God, and warn us that if we don't believe and obey this God, we will be welcomed in hell.

We are secure in the belief God favors the humble, the meek, the pure of heart.

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What areNecessary Acts of Devotion?

Christopher Morley was a lover of all things literary, and he gave special reverence to bookstores. He was a great advocate for independent booksellers as public servants. The shops they ran, he said, afforded one pastimes as well as the chance to "discover the bread and meat of life." In an essay called "On Visiting Bookshops," Morley wondered why people only go into a bookshop when they need a particular book. "Do they never drop in for a little innocent carouse and refreshment?" he asks. It would be good to remember that, though you may not be in need of any books at the moment, there may be a book in need of you. And the right book can change one's world:

The sky was sluiced with a clearer blue, air and sunlight blended for a keener intake of the lungs, faces seen along the street moved us with a livelier shock of interest and surprise.

Morley closes his essay with one of the most beautiful and moving passages in literature, one of the very "rare and sensational delights" which he is describing, those

...that set the mind moving on lovely journeys of its own, and mark off visits to a bookshop not as casual errands of reason, but as necessary acts of devotion. We visit bookshops not so often to buy any one special book, but rather to discover, in the happier and more expressive words of others, our own encumbered souls.

About Me

Quillhill was born in Angstadt in 1751 in a castle he built with his own two hands and 135 Mordvin slaves. He is founder of the ancient Society of the Drivers of the Quill and the Slaves of Golconda. Originally a playwright for marionette stage, he retired in shame and horror following a mass puppecide. He is a novelist and cunning linguist who has published two books, the first prompting writer Stephen King to say, "I wouldn't line my birdcage with this dreck!" In 1996 he became Professor of Microcalifragilistics at the University of Angstadt, and was later appointed Executive Director of Geschafts aus Herzensangelegenheit. After several clicks on the internet, he has attained the status of Apostolic Scribe. His only regret is that he was never able to become a banker. He enjoys pillows and making fun of pumpkins. He is seeking a tempting red-headed patroness, or a patronising red-headed temptress. Today he is pack leader to five calm submissive followers.